Chapter 3- Communicating Interculturally

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Chapter 3- Communicating Interculturally

• Intercultural communication Send receive
  messages among people from different cultures.
• Effectiveness
• 1) Business opportunities
• 2) Contributions in a diverse workforce

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Advantages of a Multicultural Workforce

• Broader range of views ideas
• Better understanding of diverse markets
• Broader pool of talent

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Challenges of Intercultural Communication

• Supervisors- diverse employees, motivating,
  fostering cooperation
• Culture influences
• Language, nonverbal signals, word meaning, time
  and space issues, rules of human relationships

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Culture

• Shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes,
  values, expectation behavior norms.
• Subculture Differentiation from the larger
  culture they belong. Distinctive symbolic use
  of style.
• Cultural groups Ex/ Ethnic groups
• Counterculture Systematic opposition to the
  dominant culture.

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Hofstedes approach to cultural differences

• I) Individualism/collectivism Managers
  communicate consensus versus argumentative but
  arguably
• II) Power distance Inequalities between managers
  subordinates information flows up and down the
  hierarchy, decision-making

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Hofstedes approach to cultural differences

• III) Uncertainty avoidance Tolerate unstructured
  unclear situations High gt detailed, rigid,
  inflexible
• IV) Masculine(achievement)/feminine (relational)
  Material gain, aggressive competition versus
  higher on creativity mutual support.

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Hofstedes approach to cultural differences

• V) Long-term /short-term orientation Societys
  time-horizon Importance attached to the future
  versus past present
• LTO gt traditional values, planning
• STO gt Do not adapt the traditional values to
  the current situations, problem-solving skills

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Culture- From generation to generation

• Automatic
• Coherent
• Complete
• gt Ethnocentrism Tendency to judge all others
  according to standards, behaviors customs of
  ones groups.

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Overcome

• Xenophobia Fear of strangers
• Stereotyping Assigning generalized attributes to
  an individual.
• Avoid Assumptions Judgments and Accept
  Differences.
• Cultural Pluralism Acceptance of multiple
  cultures on their own terms.

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Recognizing Cultural Variations

• Sender gtaccording to your own culture
• Receiver gt decode according to his/hers
• gt Misunderstanding
• Treat people the way they expect to be treated,
  not the way you expect to be treated.

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Contextual Differences

• Pattern of physical cues, environmental stimuli
  implicit understanding conveying meaning among
  the members of the same culture.

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High-Context Cultures

• Rely less on verbal communication
• More on nonverbal actions environmental setting
• Rules are rarely explicit
• Learning later recognizing to situational cues
• Role of com Building relationships not
  exchanging information
• Emphasize harmony agreement

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Low-Context Cultures

• Rely more on verbal communication
• Less on cues to convey meaning
• Role of com Exchanging information
• Focus on the results
• Negotiations are viewed impersonal

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Legal Ethical Differences

• Low-context written agreements, laws strictly
• High-context more flexible
• Cultural differences complicate ethical choices.
• Ex/ US 1977- Bribes gt Illegal,
  Kenya Kitu Kidogo

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Keep your messages by applying

• Actively seek mutual ground
• Send receive messages without judgment
• Send messages that are honest
• Show respect for cultural differences

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Social rules can vary from culture to culture
in

• Attitudes toward work success Major social
  influence in US gt Puritan work ethic versus
  Catholic
• Roles Status
• Use of manners
• Concepts of time

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Nonverbal Differences

• Greetings
• Personal space
• Touching
• Facial expressions
• Eye contact
• Posture
• Formality

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Age Gender Differences

• Emphasis on youth versus older
• Perception of men women

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Intercultural Communication

• Requires variety of skills
• English be careful!
• Communication styles
• Professionals style in high-context versus
  low-context cultures
• Business correspondence

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Writing Speaking Clearly

• Use simple clear language
• Be brief
• Use transitional elements
• Cite numbers dates carefully
• Avoid idiomatic phrases business jargon
• Avoid humor to popular culture

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To be more effective in intercultural
communication

• Speak slowly clearly
• Dont rephrase until its necessary
• Ask for feedback
• Double-check
• While listening Accept what you hear without
  judgment let people finish what they have to
  say.